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I was wondering,how many spears a 50-man unit of clanrats needs? how many shields? do I need a clawleader?

If you buy a gear upgrade you must buy it for the whole unit (unless a special rule allows you to have diverse gear).
Getting a champ, or any other form of command really depends on how you plan to use the unit.

Skaven don't get run with spears; it's not cost-effective. Clanrats aren't there to kill anything (which is good, because they won't). They are there as a slightly more durable tarpit to pin down a unit unit either a) a killy unit comes along to save them (abomb, plague monks, etc), or the game ends with at least one clanrat surviving to deny points. As such they get run with HW+S for the 5+/6++ saves.

Slaves are generally considered a better value for the role, except for character bunkers (including the Screaming Bell).

Slaves are a bunker.
Clan Rats are a bunker with a bit of a save, and a weapon team.

If you don't want/need weapon teams, don't take clanrats.

-Matt

Slaves are not bunkers; as soon as you put a character in there you can no longer shoot into combat. That's too valuable a thing to throw away!

Besides, when a slave unit breaks it is removed from the game. There goes your character...

Clan rats are cheap enough that you don't really need slaves except to do the jobs that will likely result in eventual defeat and rout (as other Skaven dont care if they run).

Only take Clans if you're taking weapon teams. And they probably only need shields. Spears make them a tad less survivable in CC

I plan on using them the same way I use gaunts.

Bad idea, as a player of both i can tell you FB plays veeeery differently from 40k.

Agreeing with Hover. The main difference is in the way the two function within the game. Gaunts are weak individually, but when you have 20-30 throwing out attacks you can put a serious hurting on an enemy unit. Clan Rats, on the other hand won't ever be throwing out enough attacks to overwhelm an enemy in the same fashion. Even if you have spears, even if you horde up, you're just not getting up to the 40-60 rerolled attacks to pull down an enemy.

streamdragon wrote:Agreeing with Hover. The main difference is in the way the two function within the game. Gaunts are weak individually, but when you have 20-30 throwing out attacks you can put a serious hurting on an enemy unit. Clan Rats, on the other hand won't ever be throwing out enough attacks to overwhelm an enemy in the same fashion. Even if you have spears, even if you horde up, you're just not getting up to the 40-60 rerolled attacks to pull down an enemy.

I was thinking more of tying up an enemy unit until my doomwheels can get where I need them to be.

Honestly I personally would say you should be using slaves in 50 man units instead of Clanrats, the double point difference for the sake barely any stats makes them costly for what they are.

I generally only stacked clanrats in groups of 30 to get weapon teams, I think thats pretty much all they are really good for, slaves with 8th edition stead fast are incredible and you don't even need to give them any equipment at all.

If you are intent on using clanrats and clanrats in those numbers you should probably give them all shields. 1 in 6 will survive via parry save, given theres fifty of them if you were to take wounds to every single person in the unit you would save 8 give or take some luck on average, which is 33pts. The cost of giving everyone shields is 25pts alone, its marginally better to give them anything at all by 8pts difference.

I honestly don't recommend giving clanrats or slaves anything at all, there only really there to tarpit at best.

Slaves again win my praise for that allowing you to fure those small Clanrat units weapon teams into combat which the slaves are in holding them up.

Ideally you want to run slaves in bulk of 50+ instead of clanrats, and run your clanrats at around 30 for some extra cushion and purely for there weapons teams. Giving either of them equipment is just a waste of points in my opinion and you would probably be best off putting that 25pts on shields towards the next weapons team and letting the cannons, weapon teams, stormvermin, plague monks, hell pit abom and grey seer/engineers do the talking in regards to equipment.

All they really need is a musician and you only want to include a claw leader in a unit that you plan to use as a bunker for a character so that they can accept challenges in place of them, without sending said character to the back in combat.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
50 Clanrats 200pts

50 slaves 100pts

Survivability difference? absolutely none, 33pts at best give or take.